


Emma... Uh, Emma Swan

by themetgayla



Series: Swan Queen Week - Winter 2017 [5]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Enchanted Forest, Angst, Enchanted Forest AU, F/F, F/M, Princess Emma, Swan Queen Week Winter 2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-03
Updated: 2017-02-03
Packaged: 2018-09-21 18:01:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9560564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themetgayla/pseuds/themetgayla
Summary: "Who are you?" The one closest to her spoke, his voice cold and harsh, making Emma flinch involuntarily."Emma…" The blonde scrabbled for a surname. "Uh, Emma Swan." Swan? What sort of a surname is that? Oh, whatever."You have to come with us. You have committed treason." The guard said, and Emma scoffed in disbelief.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Here's my entry for SQ Week, Enchanted Forest AU. I deliberately left it as a 'first chapter', in case anyone wanted me to continue it.
> 
> Usual disclaimers apply and I don't own Once or the characters.
> 
> Please enjoy! Kudos and reviews are extremely welcome.

Emma sprinted, faster and faster through the thick, forest, not daring to look back, not able to think about what would happen if she saw guards riding after her. Finally, she’s gotten away - away from her parents' controlling grip on her life. Insisting on Emma being a proper princess, Queen Snow had drilled Emma senseless on etiquette, and had forced her to take numerous studies, even ones she despised.

The young blonde princess desperately wanted a normal life; she didn’t care what it was. She couldn't have cared less if it was the life of a meagre peasant. She just couldn’t bring herself to continue the life of an uptight, snooty princess that was decidedly not her thing. When her mother had mentioned an arranged marriage to an idiotic, leering prince of a far-away land, it had been the last straw.

As she ran, wind whipping through her hair, brambles clawing at her cloak, she reached the border. The border between the White Kingdom, her mother and father’s kingdom, and the Dark Kingdom, owned by the so-called Evil Queen. Where one kingdom ended and the other began was obvious – the side of the Dark Kingdom was several shades darker, and the forest was even more dense, preventing the sunlight from reaching the ground. Because of this, the air was damp, unable to dry out in the soft heat of the sun.

Emma paused, contemplating her next move. If she stayed in her kingdom, she would surely be found. But then again, crossing over into the Dark Kingdom wouldn't exactly be the wisest decision of her life. There were all sorts of rumours surrounding the Evil Queen who currently resided inside the dark, imposing palace atop the hill. If the princess stepped over into the Dark Kingdom, she would surely be caught and taken to the Queen. It was either the confining life of a princess under the thumb of her mother, or be captured and possibly killed at the hands of the well-renowned Evil Queen. And for some bizarre reason, the latter sounded a hell of a lot more appealing.

And so, her decision was made.

She stepped cautiously over the border, sighing in relief when nothing immediate happened. No magical threat, no hurtling spears. Shrugging away her original worries, Emma ventured further into the deep forest, finding herself completely and utterly lost almost straight away.

The branches seemed to twist even more as she walked past, whispering threatening words. They reached out to her and drew her in, winding around and around as she continued to walk. Emma shivered slightly as the cold seemed to envelop her, wrapping her up in a confining blanket.

The princess walked on and on and on, heading what she thought might have been North. She didn't know. She didn't particularly care. She didn't really understand why people feared and hated the Evil Queen so much. The woman clearly wasn't that evil. No one was born evil. _Evil isn't born, it's made._ Emma just saw the Queen as a lonely, misunderstood woman, who lashed out when she felt vulnerable. Which was clearly a lot.

Everyone had done bad things in their life, some more than others, yes. But, it didn't change the fact that the people who had done the worse things were human. They were still human, no matter what they did, and they still all had feelings - just like those of innocence. Those other people weren’t inhuman. It was a characteristic of the Evil Queen that people described that frustrated her no end. When they called her a monster, it made her fists clench and her heart squeeze.

Emma was obviously no Evil Queen, but she knew what it was like to be on the outside. To be so much, but not enough. To be accepted when her parents felt like it, and deemed unaccepted when they found it a little hard to deal with. She knew what being misunderstood felt like all too well, despite her 'perfect' family. And so, the blonde didn't call her the 'Evil Queen', like everybody else did. She merely called her the Queen, like people should. Just because people make some bad life choices, it doesn't mean they should be berated for who they are. That was immoral.

Part of the reason that Emma was so intrigued by the Queen, was the life-long feud she had with her mother, Queen Snow. Her mother never spoke of it, and whenever the princess attempted to raise the subject in conversation she was quickly shut down by a hard glare, or was cut off by an all-too-abrupt change of topic. The princess had been desperate to find out from a young age, and now she may finally discover the secret behind the feud. She had even asked her father, who generally preferred to stay out of the arguments Emma had with Snow, but like usual, he had redirected her to her mother.

No one would tell her what was going on, and she wanted to know. She was twenty-four - she wasn’t a little kid anymore - she had a right to know. Emma kept that in mind as she tore through the darkness, too afraid to stop. As night closed in, the forest seemed to close in on her, taunting her, haunting her. The blonde ran, kept running, running until her lungs burned and she heaved over, hands on her knees, gasping desperately for breath.

Weary and tired, Emma collapsed to the floor of the forest, her eyelids fluttering closed. Sweat trickled down the sides of her face, running down her neck. Curled up into herself, the princess was tugged deep into the dream world, losing consciousness rapidly.

Her dreams were haunted with twisted magical creatures, attacking her from all sides, frantically trying to claw at her. Each time though, she was pulled away from them, protected by a cloaked, faceless figure. She awoke, drenched in sweat, panting on the floor of the forest. Once calming her breathing, she slipped away once more, only awakening when she felt something sharp hit her side.

Emma’s eyes flew open and she bolted upright, staring wildly around her. Her heart jumped in her chest when she saw six guards, dressed all in black, masks covering their faces looking down on her. Their swords were drawn, and they looked worriedly intimidating. The princess sighed, not even bothering to try and make a run for it. They were the Queen’s guards, she knew that much. They were here to take her away to be killed, she was sure of that much.

"Who are you?" The one closest to her spoke, his voice cold and harsh, making Emma flinch involuntarily.

"Emma…" The blonde scrabbled for a surname. "Uh, Emma Swan." _Swan? What sort of a surname is that? Oh, whatever._

"You have to come with us. You have committed treason." The guard said, and Emma scoffed in disbelief.

"Treason? What sort of treason?"

"Trespassing. Now get up." He raised his voice, gesturing for two guards to step forwards. Taking far too much delight than they probably should, two other guards surged forwards and yanked Emma to her feet mercilessly, ignoring her sharp cry as she stumbled and hit her head on a tree trunk. She swayed unsteadily on her feet, her vision blurring as her mind span.

"Come on." The princess was grabbed by both arms, grips tight. She felt herself be dragged forwards, unsure of what was going on. Her head throbbed, like a blade driving itself deep into her skull.

"Don’t pass out now, you idiot!" One guard screamed into her ear, and her head jerked up from its position hanging limply from her neck. Tripping over her feet as Emma was hauled along, she fell face first to the ground, the world blacking out around her.

She was pulled into the world of the resting, dreaming again of the wild creatures and her mysterious saviour.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Anyone want me to continue it? If so, drop a comment so I know. Reviews are love!


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